10/12/2026
Today's Word of the Day is Navigate.
This 1860 engraving of Christopher Columbus is courtesy of Britannica.
The oldest known human footprints in the Americas were found in White Sands National Park, New Mexico. They date to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, meaning human populations existed in the Americas for at least that long.
Norse explorers, also called Vikings, led by Leif Erikson were the first known Europeans to reach the Americas, around the year 1000. They landed in present-day Newfoundland and created settlements that did not become permanent.
Perhaps the most famous explorer to reach the western continents was Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer and navigator. Columbus was knowledgeable in the fields of astronomy, geography, and history. His intentions for sailing west from Europe were to find a passage to the East Indies, now known as the region of Southeast Asia, in order to profit from the lucrative spice trade.
First landing in the Bahamas in 1492, Columbus' expeditions would continue for many years. He landed on the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola (which makes up the modern day countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic) as well as Trinidad. Interestingly, while he would eventually voyage to Central and South America, Columbus never set foot on the American mainland. However, tales of his voyages would lead to many more from Europe, resulting in the colonization of the New World.
Columbus Day was established in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, following protests against anti-Italian discrimination in the United States. It is celebrated to honor the original 1492 voyage, as well as to celebrate Italian Americans.
Columbus Day does face some criticism, including that the native peoples of the United States should be celebrated instead. In 1977, the United Nations began discussing replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous People's Day, and in 2021, President Joe Biden was the first to formally commemorate this holiday.
